- Home
- Paintings, Drawings and Prints
- History of Watermarks
- Home
- Books, Manuscripts and Maps
- History of Watermarks
History of Watermarks
- By The Map Collector
- Published 1 March 1979
- Paintings, Drawings and Prints , Books, Manuscripts and Maps
- Unrated
The Map Collector
The Map Collector, initiated by Peter Scott and Valerie G. Newby, was a journal on historical cartography published every quarter. The first issue appeared in 1997 and continued for nearly 20 years. After 74 issues the last copy appeared in Spring 1996. Mrs. Valerie G. Newby, is presently editor of the IMCoS Journal.
www.imcos.org
by Bob Akers
Collectors of maps, prints and drawings on early paper always want to know the value of watermarks in dating works of art and their use in exposing forgeries but, as Bob Akers, Principal Lecturer-in-charge of Bookbinding and Paper Conservation at Camberwell School of Art, explains, the information they provide may sometimes be unreliable. Here he gives the reasons why and traces the history of these fascinating 'hidden designs' from the thirteenth century until the present day.
MOST MAP COLLECTORS will be familiar with watermarks, those interesting and often artistic distinguishing marks that are only fully revealed when paper is held up against the light.
Their study can prove fascinating especially as the significance of the numerous ancient symbols used for watermarks often remains a mystery. It is sometimes suggested that the watermark designs on old papers possess hidden meanings connected with religion, folklore or mysticism.
Unfortunately, the term watermark is rather misleading. A more accurate description is provided by the earlier English term 'papermark' and the French 'filigrane'. Paper is marked in the course of making: the designs are shaped from fine wire and sewn to the surface of the paper maker's mould on which the sheet is formed and lifted from the vat. The wire acts as a form of matrix, the impression of which is formed in the paper. The resulting difference in the thickness of the paper produces the translucent watermark image which appears in delicate light lines on a darker background.
[Click on image for watermark examples]
The year the first watermark appeared is still open to some doubt but it is generally agreed that they first started to appear in Italian paper towards the end of the thirteenth century and quickly spread throughout Europe. The earliest known water¬mark appears in an Italian paper made in Bologna in 1282. It represents a pomme cross with small circles at the ends of the arms of the cross and a large one at the centre.
The original purpose of the watermark remains obscure although a number of different theories exist. One theory suggests that early watermarks were used by heretical paper makers as symbols for religious propaganda or were used by mystical groups to carry signals with hidden meanings. It is also suggested that watermarks sewn to the surface of each mould made it easier for the paper maker to identify each matching pair of moulds. This, however, seems a very elaborate and expensive method of marking for identification when numbers attached to the side of each mould would have obtained the same result. A more acceptable explanation is that paper makers, who in the Middle Ages made and sewed the watermarks on to their own moulds, considered their work as an art and formed the various designs to satisfy their own artistic natures. They were paper makers by trade and the mark of their trade was the watermark, used at a time when only stone-masons, mint-masters and goldsmiths were entitled to mark their products in a similar way. Whatever particular theory is correct some of the countless variations of the symbols and devices used by early paper makers may well have had more than one meaning or purpose.
The watermark designs of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries were rather primitive. This was probably because the early paper makers lacked the necessary artistic ability, coupled with the difficulty that the wire used to fashion the design was initially of a very heavy gauge, not easily shaped into intricate patterns. During the following centuries the designs grew in complexity as craftsmen took a greater interest in them and began to produce an astonishing richness of shapes and ideas. It is surprising what a wealth of motifs the early paper maker used for his watermarks. The standard source of information on the subject is the four volume work Les Filigranes by Dr. Charles Moise Briquet (1839-1918) the Swiss watermark expert. This monumental work published in 1907 contains tracings of 16,112 European watermarks extend¬ing up to the year 1600 but not including any from Great Britain or Scandinavia. Regrettably there is no comprehensive volume on the subject of the watermarks of paper makers in the British Isles.
It is interesting to note that no watermarks of symbols or devices are found in early Oriental papers. This is accounted for by the fact that the designs shaped from fine metal wire used for European watermarks would not have been possible with the thin and brittle strips of bamboo used by the Chinese in the construction of their paper making moulds.
Engraving from Diderot's encyclopedia showing the construction of a paper mould.
Classification
Watermarks from their early beginnings in the thirteenth century until the latter part of the eighteenth century, when they tended to lose their simplicity, are usually classified into four categories according to their subjects, simple designs or symbols; human beings and human belongings; fruit and vegetation; animals and insects.
Most of the early watermarks were in the form of crosses circles, triangles, ovals, knots and other devices of the simple kind that could be fashioned in wire. Crowns and crosses signifying the power of the state and the church appear frequently in all their forms and variations as part of a watermark. Sun, moon and stars also find their place in an array of patterns.
The second category, human beings and human belongings, includes many thousands of designs. The male figure was rarely used and the female figure usually only appears in mermaid form. Parts of the human body, the head, feet and hands were frequently used. The hand was symbolic of fidelity and labour and was used by the paper makers of various countries as watermarks. The hand often appears surmounted by a cross, star or some other ornament. The works of man embrace agricultural implements and small tools such as shears, spades, swords, pruning hooks and axes. Also used were the everyday things with which the paper maker was most familiar, his waterwheel, scales, tongs and even his cart.
The third category of fruit and vegetation includes such watermarks as flowers, sheafs of wheat, pine cones, grape clusters and acorns. In a number of the old symbols there are combinations of the works of man and vegetation such as a bunch of grapes with a bell or crown.
The fourth category includes animals and legendary beasts as well as snakes, fish, snails, turtles, crabs and most other living creatures. The bull's head and the legendary unicorn were particular favourites.
Makers of early watermarks obviously knew their business and worked within the limitations of the paper making process. Symbols having small circles, long straight lines and solid areas which could have created problems during the forming of the sheet, were usually avoided.
The position of the watermark design in handmade sheets of paper tends to vary considerably . Initially, most watermarks were positioned to appear in the centre of each sheet. When the sheet was folded into folios for bookwork these tended to become concealed in the backfolds of the binding. To over¬come this problem it became customary for the watermark to be positioned in the centre of one half of the sheet with a further watermark called a 'countermark' facing it on the other half of the sheet. The maker's name or cipher may form the main watermark and those of the patron, customer or merchant used for the countermark. Sometimes watermarks are to be found in the corner or edge of a hand-made sheet.
In the later seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries the motif of the watermark becomes more and more consistently related to the size of the sheet even though the connection may not be apparent. In 1791 maximum level dimensions for paper were introduced in England for Pott, Foolscap, Crown, Medium, Demy, Royal and Elephant. Many of these names have a direct connection with the original watermark design. No other reasonable explanation can be found for such names as Pott and Foolscap. The name Pott was probably derived from the watermark of a pot, tankard or flagon. The original watermark for Foolscap was, as the name suggests, the head of a jester with cap and bells. This is one of the most accepted and obvious examples of the name and size of paper being derived from the original watermark.
Collectors of maps, prints and drawings on early paper always want to know the value of watermarks in dating works of art and their use in exposing forgeries but, as Bob Akers, Principal Lecturer-in-charge of Bookbinding and Paper Conservation at Camberwell School of Art, explains, the information they provide may sometimes be unreliable. Here he gives the reasons why and traces the history of these fascinating 'hidden designs' from the thirteenth century until the present day.
MOST MAP COLLECTORS will be familiar with watermarks, those interesting and often artistic distinguishing marks that are only fully revealed when paper is held up against the light.
Their study can prove fascinating especially as the significance of the numerous ancient symbols used for watermarks often remains a mystery. It is sometimes suggested that the watermark designs on old papers possess hidden meanings connected with religion, folklore or mysticism.
Unfortunately, the term watermark is rather misleading. A more accurate description is provided by the earlier English term 'papermark' and the French 'filigrane'. Paper is marked in the course of making: the designs are shaped from fine wire and sewn to the surface of the paper maker's mould on which the sheet is formed and lifted from the vat. The wire acts as a form of matrix, the impression of which is formed in the paper. The resulting difference in the thickness of the paper produces the translucent watermark image which appears in delicate light lines on a darker background.
[Click on image for watermark examples]
Early Watermarks
The original purpose of the watermark remains obscure although a number of different theories exist. One theory suggests that early watermarks were used by heretical paper makers as symbols for religious propaganda or were used by mystical groups to carry signals with hidden meanings. It is also suggested that watermarks sewn to the surface of each mould made it easier for the paper maker to identify each matching pair of moulds. This, however, seems a very elaborate and expensive method of marking for identification when numbers attached to the side of each mould would have obtained the same result. A more acceptable explanation is that paper makers, who in the Middle Ages made and sewed the watermarks on to their own moulds, considered their work as an art and formed the various designs to satisfy their own artistic natures. They were paper makers by trade and the mark of their trade was the watermark, used at a time when only stone-masons, mint-masters and goldsmiths were entitled to mark their products in a similar way. Whatever particular theory is correct some of the countless variations of the symbols and devices used by early paper makers may well have had more than one meaning or purpose.
The watermark designs of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries were rather primitive. This was probably because the early paper makers lacked the necessary artistic ability, coupled with the difficulty that the wire used to fashion the design was initially of a very heavy gauge, not easily shaped into intricate patterns. During the following centuries the designs grew in complexity as craftsmen took a greater interest in them and began to produce an astonishing richness of shapes and ideas. It is surprising what a wealth of motifs the early paper maker used for his watermarks. The standard source of information on the subject is the four volume work Les Filigranes by Dr. Charles Moise Briquet (1839-1918) the Swiss watermark expert. This monumental work published in 1907 contains tracings of 16,112 European watermarks extend¬ing up to the year 1600 but not including any from Great Britain or Scandinavia. Regrettably there is no comprehensive volume on the subject of the watermarks of paper makers in the British Isles.
It is interesting to note that no watermarks of symbols or devices are found in early Oriental papers. This is accounted for by the fact that the designs shaped from fine metal wire used for European watermarks would not have been possible with the thin and brittle strips of bamboo used by the Chinese in the construction of their paper making moulds.
Engraving from Diderot's encyclopedia showing the construction of a paper mould.
Classification
Watermarks from their early beginnings in the thirteenth century until the latter part of the eighteenth century, when they tended to lose their simplicity, are usually classified into four categories according to their subjects, simple designs or symbols; human beings and human belongings; fruit and vegetation; animals and insects.
Most of the early watermarks were in the form of crosses circles, triangles, ovals, knots and other devices of the simple kind that could be fashioned in wire. Crowns and crosses signifying the power of the state and the church appear frequently in all their forms and variations as part of a watermark. Sun, moon and stars also find their place in an array of patterns.
The second category, human beings and human belongings, includes many thousands of designs. The male figure was rarely used and the female figure usually only appears in mermaid form. Parts of the human body, the head, feet and hands were frequently used. The hand was symbolic of fidelity and labour and was used by the paper makers of various countries as watermarks. The hand often appears surmounted by a cross, star or some other ornament. The works of man embrace agricultural implements and small tools such as shears, spades, swords, pruning hooks and axes. Also used were the everyday things with which the paper maker was most familiar, his waterwheel, scales, tongs and even his cart.
The third category of fruit and vegetation includes such watermarks as flowers, sheafs of wheat, pine cones, grape clusters and acorns. In a number of the old symbols there are combinations of the works of man and vegetation such as a bunch of grapes with a bell or crown.
The fourth category includes animals and legendary beasts as well as snakes, fish, snails, turtles, crabs and most other living creatures. The bull's head and the legendary unicorn were particular favourites.
Makers of early watermarks obviously knew their business and worked within the limitations of the paper making process. Symbols having small circles, long straight lines and solid areas which could have created problems during the forming of the sheet, were usually avoided.
The position of the watermark design in handmade sheets of paper tends to vary considerably . Initially, most watermarks were positioned to appear in the centre of each sheet. When the sheet was folded into folios for bookwork these tended to become concealed in the backfolds of the binding. To over¬come this problem it became customary for the watermark to be positioned in the centre of one half of the sheet with a further watermark called a 'countermark' facing it on the other half of the sheet. The maker's name or cipher may form the main watermark and those of the patron, customer or merchant used for the countermark. Sometimes watermarks are to be found in the corner or edge of a hand-made sheet.
In the later seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries the motif of the watermark becomes more and more consistently related to the size of the sheet even though the connection may not be apparent. In 1791 maximum level dimensions for paper were introduced in England for Pott, Foolscap, Crown, Medium, Demy, Royal and Elephant. Many of these names have a direct connection with the original watermark design. No other reasonable explanation can be found for such names as Pott and Foolscap. The name Pott was probably derived from the watermark of a pot, tankard or flagon. The original watermark for Foolscap was, as the name suggests, the head of a jester with cap and bells. This is one of the most accepted and obvious examples of the name and size of paper being derived from the original watermark.
